Car crashes into gelato cart outside Scottsdale shop
Scottsdale gelato shop owners assess damage after courtyard crash
A Scottsdale gelato shop is assessing the damage after a car crashed into its custom mobile cart. Owners of Allora Gelato say they’ve been forced to refund multiple event bookings while they wait for repairs. FOX 10's Megan Spector reports.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A local gelato shop could be facing thousands of dollars in damages and canceled bookings after a car crashed into its new mobile vending cart.
What we know:
The incident occurred around 8:50 a.m. outside Allora Gelato near Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard, which has been open for just over a year.
Scottsdale Police described the driver as an older woman and said there were no serious injuries requiring immediate medical treatment. The shop’s owners believe the driver accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brakes.
"Thankfully, they were able to miss the building and the tree. But in doing so, they ran right into the gelato cart," said Kendrick Blair, an employee at the shop.
Co-owner Ciara Jarosch said the timing of the crash was a "blessing" because the courtyard is usually crowded with customers later in the day.
"Thank goodness there was no one here," Jarosch said. "Every day there are people sitting out here in the courtyard. She didn’t run into our business, which is a blessing."
Dig deeper:
The damaged cart, which was launched in October to handle catering and weddings, was a significant investment for the small business. It was imported from Italy, and co-owner Lalo Fuentes said the total cost—including shipping, crating, and tariffs—reached "sports car territory."
The shop has been forced to pause its mobile operations while assessing the damage.
"We actually had five bookings before we even had the cart here in the United States," Blair said. "But sadly, for the next couple of months, or however long it takes us to repair the gelato cart, we’ve had to cancel those bookings and refund them."
Fuentes said he's holding out hope that the unit is not a total loss: "Hopefully we can repair it or bring it back to life."